'Game of Thrones': George R.R. Martin on that controversial scene

By Breeanna Hare, CNN

Updated 10:11 AM ET, Thu April 24, 2014

'Game of Thrones': Who's who in Westeros17 photos

'Game of Thrones': Who's who in Westeros – In HBO's "Game of Thrones," a robust cast of lords and ladies all plot to claim the Iron Throne and rule the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. Between the beheadings and the house mottos, it can be easy to lose track of who does what. Here's a brief guide to who's who (while they're still here):

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'Game of Thrones': Who's who in Westeros17 photos

Who's who in Westeros – Jon Snow (Kit Harington): From bastard son to wildling lover, Jon Snow and his immaculate medieval tresses have had quite the journey. Jon vowed to be loyal to the Night's Watch -- the ragtag group who stand guard at the icy North wall on high alert for the fantastical (the zombie-like White Walkers) and the free (wildlings) -- and he's held true to that promise even after a detour in the arms of wildling Ygritte. Sadly, by the end of season four, that romance is dead.

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Who's who in Westeros – Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage): With his sharp wit and swift thinking, Peter Dinklage's Tyrion Lannister has managed to stay alive through all three seasons of "Game of Thrones," although the fourth season has been even dicier. A Lannister and therefore the son of the wealthiest guy around, Tyrion is nonetheless despised by his family because of his size and their belief that he "killed" their mother during childbirth.

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Who's who in Westeros – Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke): As one of the few surviving descendants of the Targaryen family, Daenerys has a lot of expectations riding on her platinum-haired head. But, much to our enjoyment, she has risen to and surpassed all of them. Once nothing more than an offering for a king, Daenerys -- called Khaleesi, or queen, by the Dothraki people she once helped rule -- has morphed into a Mother of Dragons who insists on justice and is a formidable foe in the "Game of Thrones."

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Who's who in Westeros – Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson): In the pantheon of most-hated TV characters, "Game of Thrones'" boy king Joffrey has to be one of the top choices. He's petulant, cruel and too immature to rule, but don't tell him that or he'll have your tongue. The most delicious part for the viewers at home is that he's not the rightful heir to the Iron Throne that he thinks he is, although that didn't stop his reign of terror. In our personal opinions, we'd say the Purple Wedding was one of Joff's best scenes.

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Who's who in Westeros – Arya Stark (Maisie Williams): Much of Arya's family has been sent to their graves by one wicked person or another, but the young swordswoman is still kicking. With Sandor "The Hound" Clegane at her side imparting lessons in mercilessness and self-preservation, the orphaned Arya is surviving.

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Who's who in Westeros – Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey): Cersei has become more or less your stereotypical evil queen, albeit one who has zero issues with incest. After helping her son Joffrey take the throne, Cersei tried to rule alongside her son only to have him overtake her will. During season four, when not being as cruel as ever, she's been a central character in a rich debate on the show's treatment of sexual violence.

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Who's who in Westeros – Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau): Jaime Lannister began the "Game of Thrones" as a pretty despicable character, one who had no compunction about throwing a 10-year-old from a window. But over the course of season three this lovesick nobleman was put through his paces, losing the very limb that helped him become so powerful.

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Who's who in Westeros – Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen): If you find yourself confused as to who exactly Theon Greyjoy is, don't feel bad: he is, too. Once the ward of the House of Stark, Theon betrayed those who were like family to him to claim a noble title that lasted for essentially a nanosecond. That led to Theon suffering as a prisoner and punching bag for Bastard of Bolton Ramsay Snow, who has the guy thinking his name is "Reek."

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Who's who in Westeros – Sandor "The Hound" Clegane (Rory McCann): A killer to the bone but not without a heart, Sandor, or "The Hound" as he's known, was once a bodyguard for King Joffrey but deserted his post. He then tried to take Arya Stark hostage in hopes he could exchange her for ransom, but that plan -- much to Arya's amusement -- didn't work out so well.

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Who's who in Westeros – Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright): Bran Stark, the middle son of the House of Stark, was left crippled from the very first episode of "Game of Thrones" but has gained a gift for visions. With his faithful Hodor (Kristian Nairn) by his side for mobility, the now orphaned Bran has gone beyond the Wall in search of the three-eyed Raven he frequently sees in visions.

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Who's who in Westeros – Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner): Sansa Stark/Sansa Lannister is a character many love to hate, because she started out as pretty insufferable. But after being ridiculed and tortured by Joffrey Lannister, her former fiance, and held captive by him and his family, we've come around. Not unlike her younger sister Arya, Sansa has started to learn the rules of the "Game," and by the end of season four begins to deftly play by them.

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Who's who in Westeros – Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance): No matter who's worn the crown on "Game of Thrones," Tywin Lannister was always somewhere scheming to keep the Lannister family's legacy rich in money and power. He's alsoe the evil mastermind behind the hideous Red Wedding in the third season.

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Who's who in Westeros – Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal): Arriving at King's Landing for the first time in season four, Martell is from Dorne, in the southern reaches of the Seven Kingdoms, where passions run hot and slights are not forgotten. Weigh that against the fact that his sister was killed by Lannister soldiers and you have a recipe for trouble.

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Who's who in Westeros – Ygritte (Rose Leslie): Ygritte, one of the Free Folk who live beyond the Wall and are known derogatorily as wildlings by those in the Seven Kingdoms, is proud of her people and deadly with a bow and arrow. Her skill couldn't protect her from an orphan's revenge, however.

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Who's who in Westeros – Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane): As a brother to the late King Robert Baratheon -- who held the throne before his son-in-name-only Joffrey took over -- Stannis Baratheon knows he has a rightful claim to the crown. He's gone into battle trying to seal his position, and regularly turns to the magic of creepy "Red Priestess" Melisandre (Carice van Houten) for help.

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Who's who in Westeros – Melisandre (Carice van Houten): Known as the Red Priestess, Melisandre's magic is lethal, but Stannis Baratheon doesn't seem to mind when her power helps him move closer to the Iron Throne.

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Story highlights

Sunday's "Game of Thrones" featured a controversial scene

The author of the book series the show's based on has responded

George R.R. Martin: I intended for that scene to be disturbing

"Game of Thrones" has never strictly followed the book series it's based on, but that fan frustration turned disturbing on Sunday's episode.

In the third installment of the fourth season, "Breaker of Chains," fans were flabbergasted by a scene in which Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) forces himself on his sister, Cersei (Lena Headey). It wasn't the incest viewers were taken back by -- Jamie and Cersei's relationship is a crucial thread in the books and on the HBO series -- but the rape.

It was a confusing and jarring plot twist, not only because Jaime and Cersei's trysts have been consensual, but because the scene doesn't play out that way in George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series.

"Though the time and place is wildly inappropriate and Cersei is fearful of discovery, she is as hungry for him as he is for her," he says.

That said, "Game of Thrones" has made some chronological changes to the storyline, meaning "neither character is in the same place as in the books, which may be why (the scene) played ... differently," Martin went on. "But that's just my surmise; we never discussed this scene, to the best of my recollection."

It sounds like the director and the two actors starring in the scene didn't talk much about it either. As the episode's helmer Alex Graves told HitFix's Alan Sepinwall, "nobody really wanted to talk about what was going on between the two characters, so we had a rehearsal that was a blocking rehearsal. ... By the time you do that and you walk through it, the actors feel comfortable going home to think about it. The only other thing I did was that ordinarily, you rehearse the night before, and I wanted to rehearse that scene four days before, so that we could think about everything. And it worked out really well. That's one of my favorite scenes I've ever done."

Graves also appears to have a different understanding of what was portrayed on screen. "Well, it becomes consensual by the end, because anything for them ultimately results in a turn-on, especially a power struggle," he said.

Although Martin didn't have a conversation about the controversial moment before it arrived on air, he did always intend for that moment "to be disturbing," the author says on his blog. "But I do regret if it has disturbed people for the wrong reasons."